Search

Remember, I haven’t been frugal all my life. There have been many things bought that I just had to have. Over the years, I’ve learned to curb back, with the occasional splurge. Now, the things I do on this list are just a way of life for me.

1. I don’t buy lottery tickets. Even when the Mega Millions jackpot hit $656 million, I refused. For those who buy only $2 worth of tickets every week, that’s still $104 per year. Take your pick: for me, that’s a month of gasoline, groceries, or money in my savings account. When I told this to one of my friends, she said, “You know someone is frugal when they don’t buy special occasion lottery tickets.” I’ll take that as a compliment.

2. I cut off the ends of a tube of hand lotion so I can get the last bits out of the other end when it’s too difficult to squeeze. This way, I get use out of the tube for 3 days if it’s small, up to a week if it’s larger.

With the exception of my birthplace and a brief stint out-of-state for my first year of college, I’ve lived in the City of Angels my whole life. The advantages of being a native are plenty. I never really had to adjust to the sticker shock that transplants get when moving to a metropolis that is currently ranked the 2nd most expensive city in the United States in which to live.

I know surface street routes to stay off the freeways during daylight hours, free places to park in highly congested areas, and the little “pockets” of neighborhoods where you can get more for your apartment rental dollar. I’m familiar with inexpensive dive bars containing great jukeboxes, happy hours at higher end restaurants, and the cheapest places to go bowling.